My brother shared this video on Facebook the other day with the following preamble:

Wow, this was a real tough one for me to watch. I realise that Germany was the aggressor and I`m not trying to comment on the outcome. This is the first time I have seen the post war Berlin in moving picture. In 1945 my Mom and Dad were 7 and 11 respectively. They grew up in Berlin. I remember them telling me stories of rubble in the street and how people lived. The fact that they even survived, is a testament to their strength and resilience. My parents went on to make a new life here in Canada. May this never happen again. Please watch it, there are no winners in this type of conflict.

We’ve heard so many stories from Mom and Dad over the years…

like the time dad stole a horse from the Russians and it was butchered by his family and neighbours so they could eat.

how one night you’d have potato soup and the next night you’d have potato peel soup.

or the time when Mom accepted chocolate from a Russian soldier.

how you could buy cake crumbs for a few phennig just to have something in your belly.

or the time they were sitting around the table when the windows imploded because a bomb had been dropped nearby.

I cannot imagine the affect war had on my parents. And after viewing this video, I’m reminded how blessed I am to never have experienced war in my lifetime in my country.

As my brother Michael states: May this never happen again. There are no winners in this type of conflict.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

I many times thought Peace had comeWhen Peace was far awayAs Wrecked Men—deem they sight the LandAt Centre of the Sea

And struggle slacker—but to proveAs hopelessly as IHow many the fictitious ShoresBefore the Harbor be

Diana … The video is stark and haunting. From the description you provided about your parents, it sounds like The Great Depression in America plus a war-time experience. Our neighbor in Oswego County, when I was a teen, emigrated from Poland after he’d been impressed into the Czar’s Army. He lost some of his family during the war. He was a hard-working farmer who survived tough times.

My parents were not directly by the Japanese war invasion in China. However father did see faraway, bombs dropping. They were very young children.

My partner’s family was directly affected by WWII as Germans. My partner lost his father because he was conscripted to fight. He died in Czechsolvakia but he and mother didn’t learn of death until he was 4 yrs. old. He remembers his mother getting the letter and crying.

When I met my partner he did mention his birth father every few wks. A father who he never knew… he was an academic, PhD in Law and then conscripted. A few yrs. ago, my partner got a phone call in Vancouver, from a German nun doing her dissertation on the Catholic resisters to the Nazis. His father was part of one, but not really the strong rabble-rousers..

His mother told him that she would run with him, as a baby into the woods, when the bombing started. One bomb fell next door. His mother never liked thunderstorms because of the bombing memories.

HIs mother did prepare meals for the French soldiers..in fact, my partner started to learn abit of French when was young. Very short few months.

The stories reverberate through the generations…my partner’s daughter (she did her MA in English LIt. in Canada) wrote away and got her grandfather’s dissertation….but of course, it’s in German.

My partner as a 7 yr. old boy and his family immigrated to Canada by ship in early 1950’s and were detained for 5 days at Pier 21, Halifax, Canada’s eastern national port of entry for over 1 million European and other immigrants (it is now a national heritage museum site).

And meanwhile my father immigrated by ship as a young man, from China from the east to Vancouver in the early 1950’s, our western national port of entry for Asia..

When meet my partner and I, they probably wonder what we have in common. We actually have ALOT in common in terms of our family histories and understanding immigrants, war, cultural dislocation, etc.

Among my mother’s things, we recently came across my grandmother’s written notes of her early married life. My grandfather was gassed in World War 1 and suffered ill-health all his life and therefore they struggled as a family right through until he retired in 1951 and was able then to obtain a pension. So even though he was Australian, the after-effects of that war in Europe were felt half a world away for many decades. You are correct that there are never any winners in war.

Diana thanks for sharing this footage you are so right, there are no winners in war and seeing this broke my heart. Your parents must have carried heavy hearts to their new home. This kind of footage should be shown in schools etc to assure we learn that war is not the answer.

My mother’s family was in Frankfurt while my mother was on her way home from Czechoslovakia, although the areas different the destruction the same. Yes may we never see this destruction again, sadly we will. My mother had a different story to tell of Russian soldiers and what they did to a defeated people. Wars are still being fought, cities destroyed and families separated. Humans will never learn.

Don’t get me wrong, I hope one day people will realize their foolishness…there is always hope. I pray all the time for peace and for the anger and hatred to be removed from mens hearts. All war brings is suffering and no one truly wins.

I make no wonder at all why so many veterans suffer from PTSD, Diana. Survivor’s guilt alone would be enough to contend with.
Interesting video. I’m reading The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald, which has plenty of German references. If you haven’t read it yet, you should check it out. I think it would be a compelling read for you.
Jennifer xo

I can’t even pretend to understand what they, and others still, go/went through. This video was different than most I’ve seen. Even seeing it, doesn’t bring us anywhere near the experience of it. I’m with you and your brother, may this never happen again.

Your parents are strong people Diana. It was a very traumatic and difficult time for everyone. I am sure that courage and strength continues to be passed on in your family, making the world a better place. 🙂

Sadness… So much misery and suffering humanity inflicts on itself. Can you imagine what the world and everyone’s life would be like if the same amount of dedication, resources and energy went into kindness, compassion, and helping each other? It should be no more inconceivable then the terrible things that humanity has done. Humanity has done good things on a very small scale: Barn raisings, soup kitchens, rescuing survivors of natural disasters, the Berlin Air Lift. Humanity knows how to do it. It is a matter of will, focus, and intense desire. May humanity wake up and make better choices than those that lead to war, hatred, famine, and suffering. Thank you for your thought-proving post, Diana.

When I visited Normandy a couple years ago Diana – I understood the survivor’s guilt that tormented my father. Understanding the stories of our parents helps us discover ourselves – and sharing our stories, for better or worse with our children helps heal us.

I am glad I didn’t live then and my parents went through this. It must have made such an impact. My mum still tells me similar things. Eating a “Schiebewurst brot” the piece of sliced sausage was so small to cover the whole bread, so before they bite in they moved the sausage back. I love hearing from the time.